TREATING POST-TRAUMA NIGHTMARES: A COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

By ABIGAIL JONES

CONTENTS OVERVIEW OF TRAUMA AND POST-TRAUMA NIGHTMARES THE PREVALENCE AND NATURE OF TRAUMA IMPACT OF TRAUMA ACUTE STRESS DISORDER POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER THEORIES OF PTSD DEVELOPMENT OTHER POSTTRAUMA PROBLEMS SLEEP DISTURBANCES SLEEP DISORDERS TRAUMA ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER SLEEP? NIGHTMARES CHARACTERIZING NIGHTMARES DE?NING NIGHTMARES DISTINGUISHING DISTURBING SLEEP EVENTS NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF POST-TRAUMA NIGHTMARES ARE POST-TRAUMA NIGHTMARES ADAPTIVE? IS DREAM RECALL OR A LACK OF RECALL ADAPTIVE? THEORETICAL FORMULATION OF POST-TRAUMA NIGHTMARES WISH FUL?LLMENT COGNITIVE-PROCESSING PERSPECTIVES REM SLEEP DISRUPTION LEARNED SLEEP DISORDER IMAGERY DISTURBANCE THREE-FACTOR MODEL OF NIGHTMARE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF TRAUMA, NIGHTMARES, AND SLEEP PROBLEMS SCREENING CONSIDERATIONS ASSESSMENT METHODS ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION TO EXPOSURE, RELAXATION, AND RESCRIPTING TREATMENT EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACHES TO TREATING NIGHTMARES PHARMACOLOGICAL STUDIES PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC APPROACHES EXPOSURE, RELAXATION, AND RESCRIPTING THERAPY SESSION INTRODUCTION CON?DENTIALITY EDUCATION PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION HOMEWORK HOMEWORK REVIEW EXPOSURE TO THE NIGHTMARE IDENTI?CATION OF TRAUMA THEMES RESCRIPTION DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING RESCRIPTION EXAMPLES TROUBLESHOOTING SLOW BREATHING MAINTENANCE PLANNING TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS THERAPIST CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNS ABOUT USING EXPOSURE CLIENT CONSIDERATIONS THERAPY CONSIDERATIONS EFFICACY OF EXPOSURE, RELAXATION, AND RESCRIPTING THERAPY EF?CACY CRITICAL COMPONENTS AND MECHANISMS OF CHANGE CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS